Celebrating 66 years of Ministry in East Pasadena!
Nestled
in
the
foothills
of
the
San
Gabriel
Mountains,
Trinity
Presbyterian
Church
peeks
out
of
a
park-like
setting
to
remind
all
who
pass
the
corner
of
Sierra
Madre
Boulevard
and
Hastings
Ranch
Drive
that
God's
love
and
hope
are
alive
and
working
in
Pasadena.
Perhaps
that
is
most
fitting as it all began in a park.
Trinity
was
established
in
June
of
1948
to
serve
a
new,
East
Pasadena
housing
development,
Hastings
Ranch,
which
was
just
being
built
in
what
had
previously
been
orchards
and
farmland.
Its
first
meetings
were
held
in
the
"Park
House"
in
Sierra
Madre
and
later
in
the
Masonic
Temple
as
the
new
congregation
continued
to
grow.
Its
first
Pastor,
the
Rev.
Clarence
Shakelford,
began
the
congregation
from
the
ground
up
by
going
door
to
door
to
introduce
neighbors
to
the
new
church.
Rev.
Shakelford
served
until
1950
when
he
was
called
to
active
service
as
a
U.S.
Navy
Chaplain
during the Korean war.
Trinity
continued
to
grow
under
the
guidance
of
the
Rev.
Donald
Ostrander.
The
congregation
purchased
property
from
the
Christian
Brothers
(LaSalle
High
School)
in
order
to
build
a
church
building
and
during
construction
worshiped
at
the
Women's
Club
in
Sierra
Madre.
The
building
was
first
occupied
in
1952.
Members
of
the
church
participated
in
its
construction.
The
church
continues
to
depend
on
its
members
to
maintain
the
beautiful
grounds
around
the
church
--
some
of
the
only
remaining
"green
space"
in
East
Pasadena.
Over
the
years
Trinity
has
reached
out
to
the
community
in
many
different
ways.
Since
1952,
Trinity
has
shared
its
space
with
the
Hastings
Ranch
Nursery
School.
The
facility
was
in
fact
intentionally
designed
to
house
the
school.
In
the
early
1980's,
the
church
partnered
with
Fuller
Theological
Seminary
to
become
the
home
of
the
Community
Assistance
Program
for
Seniors
(CAPS),
a
daycare
center
for
seniors
with
Alheimer's
disease
and
other
related
memory
impairment
disorders.
CAPS
continues
to
serve
the
needs
of
the
greater
Pasadena
area
today.
In
the
mid-1960's
the
church
made
a
significant
stand
for
social
justice
when
it
sold
a
home
it
owned
in
Upper
Hastings
Ranch
to
an
African
American
family.
In
1981,
the
congregation
was
one
of
the
early
churches
in
the
Presbyterian
Church
(U.S.A.)
to
take
the
then
bold
step
of
calling
a
woman,
the
Rev.
Barbara
Stout
to
be
the
pastor.
In
1996,
Rev.
Stout
retired
and
the
church
shortly
thereafter
called
the
Rev.
Cynthia
Crowell.
Rev.
Crowell
has
served
as
the
pastor
of
Trinity
Church since 1998.